Gee I wonder what ole Chris Christie has been up to? Oh, just yelling at baseball fans again.

At #Cubs #Brewers game. #ChrisChristie was getting razzed by fans, so he got in the face of one of them. 5:30 on @WISN12News pic.twitter.com/sx8euMgFy2

— Ben Hutchison (@BennyHutch) July 30, 2017

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got into a spat with a baseball fan at a game in Milwaukee on Sunday, his latest public relations snafu to cap a month of snafus. 

In a video posted to Twitter, Christie is seen leaning over a fan who heckled him, angrily calling the man a “big shot” before storming away with a bowl of nachos.

A local news reporter for the station WISN12, Ben Hutchison, said he was a relative of the man Christie confronted, Brad Joseph. Joseph told the outlet he yelled the governor’s name “and told him that he sucked,” which sparked the encounter. 

“I called him a hypocrite because I thought it needed to be said. He turned around back towards me and got in my face for what seemed like a long time, but was probably only about 30 seconds or a minute. (He) was yelling at me. First he told me, ‘Why don’t you have another beer?’ which I thought was a decent come back, and I thought that was kind of funny. Then he started calling me a tough guy.”

Speaking of "tough guy" I wonder how tough Christie would be without all of that Secret Service protection? 

Besides what is the governor with the lowest approval rating in the country so mad about?

All the guy did was tell the truth.

Oh that's right, these GOP thugs are allergic to anything resembling the truth.

Trump spokesperson Sean Spicer meets angry American while visiting Apple store.

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

Spicer was reportedly shopping at the Apple branch in Georgetown when a woman filmed and bombarded him with question after question. The video speaks for itself, but here’s a sampler of the kinds of inquiries that the questioner decided to pursue: 

“How does it feel to work for a fascist?” 

“Have you helped with the Russia stuff?” 

“Do you feel good about lying to the American people?” 

“Are you a criminal as well?” 

The encounter was streamed on Periscope and posted on the Twitter account @Shreec. Twitchy also noticed that the same user participated in a protest last month where Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was blocked from entering a school in D.C.

Let me first just say that I do not condone this kind of confrontation. 

I would not do it myself, nor do I urge others to do it either.

However having said that I totally understand people's frustration with what is happening right now and I get why somebody might feel that our politicians and media are simply not doing enough to ferret out the truth about this administration.

Besides I think I secretly really enjoy watching Spicer squirm like that.

House Republicans have become terrified of their own town halls.

Courtesy of Politico: 

House Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday discussed how to protect themselves and their staffs from protesters storming town halls and offices in opposition to repealing Obamacare, sources in the room told Politico. 

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers invited Rep. David Reichert, a former county sheriff, to present lawmakers with protective measures they should have in place. Among the suggestions: having a physical exit strategy at town halls, or a backdoor in congressional offices to slip out of, in case demonstrations turn violent; having local police monitor town halls; replacing any glass office-door entrances with heavy doors and deadbolts; and setting up intercoms to ensure those entering congressional offices are there for appointments, not to cause chaos.

“The message was: One, be careful for security purposes. Watch your back. And two, be receptive. Honor the First Amendment, engage, be friendly, be nice,” said Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker (R-N.C.). “Because it is toxic out there right now. Even some of the guys who have been around here a lot longer than I have, have never seen it to this level.” 

He later added: “For those of us who have children in grade school and that kind of thing, there’s a factor in all of this, saying: How far will the progressive movement go to try to intimidate us?” 

The conference discussion comes as Democratic activists around the nation ramp up protests against Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare. Protesters have disrupted town halls and other public events, jeering and yelling at Republicans just as conservatives did to Democrats when they were writing the law eight years ago. Conservative protesters in 2009 and 2010 were accused of spitting on and hurling racial epithets at Democratic lawmakers ahead of their votes to pass Obamacare. Republicans denied the accusations at the time.

Yeah like the article says Democrats have already been through all of this in 2009 and 2010. 

And now it is time for the Republicans to learn the meaning of "What goes around, comes around."

The one part of the article that really  bothered me was this chairman suggesting that the children of these Representatives might be endangered or that there was a fear of violence concerning the passion coming from the Left.

We, all of us who attend these town halls, must take great pains in making sure that our justifiable anger and frustration does not present itself, or seem to present itself, as violent in nature or as anything that should be feared.

Yes we can be loud,

Yes we can be insistent.

Yes we can demand answers to questions from our Representatives in Congress.

But no we cannot threaten or harm these people, or their families, in order to further our agenda.

After all we are liberals, and liberals use facts to bludgeon our opponents into submission.

Let's just make sure we have plenty of facts in our arsenal.

Gee it seems that if a fella defunds Planned Parenthood he can't even go out for a coffee without somebody shaming him for it.

Courtesy of Injustice:  

Rick Scott, the Trump-loving, women-hating governor of Florida, can’t even visit a local Starbucks for a caffeine fix without hearing from disgruntled Floridians enraged over his political theater. 

Cara Jennings, a 39 year old woman from Gainesville, happened to be in the local Starbucks when the Governor popped in unannounced for a drink. 

Jennings decided in the moment to let him know just what she thought of his recent decisions to de-fund Planned Parenthood and significantly cut Medicaid. 

“You cut Medicaid, so I couldn’t get Obamacare, said Jennings pointing her finger at Scott and simultaneously silencing one of his aides trying in vain to intervene, “You’re an a–hole. You don’t care about working people. You should be ashamed to show your face around here.”

I LOVE how Scott runs out of the Starbucks with his tail between his legs.

Well now this woman is my new hero.

Good for her in standing up for women all over her state, and calling this guy exactly what he is, an asshole.

Combining Open Carry with public drunkenness. Just when you thought these lunatics could not be any more frightening.

So below are some citizen reports that were phoned in to the police of Kalamazoo, Michigan: 

The first caller reports seeing a "Caucasian man with white hair and pajama pants walking with what looks like and AK-47." 

A second caller says he saw an older man walking down the street with what looked to be an assault rifle, although he admits it could also be a pellet or BB gun. He says the man had the gun up by his shoulder and "didn't look dangerous or nothing." The dispatcher asks if the gun is in the man's hands, to which the caller replies it is not. "He's an elderly man and I just want to make sure everything's all right," he says. 

A third caller gives police more cause for alarm. "There's an older gentleman carrying what looks like a large semi-automatic rifle through the streets," the male caller says. "He does appear to be intoxicated; he's stumbling around a little bit and kind of bumping into some stuff."

KDPS Sgt. Sean Gordon is the first officer on the scene and observed the man with a gun slung across his shoulder and jaywalking across the street in a state of intoxication.

He carefully makes contact with the individual: 

Gordon: Hey partner, how you doing? Can you set that down real quick and talk to me? 

Houseman: I'm not setting it down. 

Gordon: Well you can't cross the street like that. 

Houseman: Am I being detained? 

Gordon: Yes, you are being detained right now. You crossed the street illegally. Place the weapon down on the ground please. 

Houseman: I will not. 

Gordon radios that it appears the man will not drop his rifle. 

Gordon: "Look, you crossed the street illegally; I just want to talk to you. I just want to talk to you. You're walking around here scaring people, man. 

A second Public Safety vehicle arrives just after 4:11 p.m. About a minute later, Gordon asks Houseman for his name. Houseman says he is "Joe Schmoe." 

"Based on training and experience I know that this is a euphemism used as an alias and knew it was not correct," Gordon would later write in his report. 

Houseman: I am free to go? 

Gordon: "No, you're not free to go. Right now you're committing a crime of resisting and obstructing (for failing to identify himself after being stopped for jaywalking). Now you've stepped up to a misdemeanor crime. 

Houseman: Why don't you (expletive) shoot me? 

Gordon: I don't want to shoot you; I'm not here to do that.

As the interaction continues Houseman  calls the officers "gang members" and mentions a coming "revolution." Which you may all remember is the same language used by those cop killers in Nevada.

More officers arrive, including SWAT, but the police continue to negotiate with Mr. Houseman and avoid the use of force.

Another officer takes the lead, KDPS Lt. Stacey Geik, who finally convinced Houseman to lay down his weapon, which turns out to be empty.

He then has the following exchange with Houseman: 

Geik offers to allow Houseman to walk home and retrieve his rifle the following day, or to drive him home and continue the discussion there. Houseman declines both offers. 

Geik: But you're not stable mentally, which now takes you away from that rifle. 

Houseman: I'm not stable mentally? How do you decide that? 

Geik: You're damn right. How did this happen with open carry? What are you supposed to do when you contact law enforcement? Do you say, 'I hate you mother(expletive), (expletive) you? I hate you, there's a revolution coming.' Do you say that? Is that what you're taught? 

Houseman: It was wrong of me. 

Houseman agains asks for his gun back. Geik tells him he wants to make sure he isn't a risk to himself or others. 

Geik: You saying (expletive), (expletive), (expletive) and yelling across the street with a rifle in your hands ... 

Houseman: That's my First Amendment right. 

Geik: No it's not. You can't swear. 

Houseman: That's bull---. I can threaten you if I want to. 

Geik: That's incorrect. 

Houseman: I can threaten you. I can threaten you're family. I didn't threaten your family, I said I could. 

Unidentified officer: You said a war was coming. 

Houseman: I didn't say a war was coming. 

Unidentified officer: You said a revolution is coming. 

Houseman: Think about it. You know it is.

My first thought is that the Kalamazoo police are very patient people.

My second thought is that these idiots need to stop quoting the Constitution until they have somebody sit down and explain it to them.

And my third thought is that if these assholes keep talking about a revolution they are going to find themselves yelling that kind of crap through iron bars. 

This idiot is very lucky he did not end up looking like a chunk of Swiss cheese, but if this keeps up there is definitely going to come a time when an abrasive Open Carry advocate runs into an irritable police officer and then shit is going to get real.

Ex-Sheriff and supporter of Nevada cattle rancher in stand off with the Feds, had planned to "put women up front" so that they would be shot first. Including his own wife.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

In a statement to Fox News on Monday that was first flagged by Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, former Sheriff Richard Mack talked about his strategy to put women on the front lines if a gunfight broke out between “rogue federal agents” and rancher Cliven Bundy, who reportedly owes the taxpayers more than $1 million for allowing his cattle to graze on government land. 

“We were actually strategizing to put all the women up at the front,” he recalled. “If they are going to start shooting, it’s going to be women that are going to be televised all across the world getting shot by these rogue federal officers.” 

Speaking to radio host Ben Swann later on Monday, Mack explained his plan. 

“It was a tactical plot that I was trying to get them to use,” Mack said. “If they’re going to start killing people, I’m sorry, but to show the world how ruthless these people are, women needed to be the first ones shot.” 

“I’m sorry, that sounds horrible,” he continued. “I would have put my own wife or daughters there, and I would have been screaming bloody murder to watch them die. I would gone next, I would have been the next one to be killed. I’m not afraid to die here. I’m willing to die here.” 

“But the best ploy would be to have had women at the front. Because, one, I don’t think they would have shot them. And, two, if they had, it would have been the worst thing that we could have shown to the rest of the world, that these ruthless cowards hired by the federal government will do anything.”

This guy wanted to put women on the front line hoping they would be shot, and it's the FEDS who are the "ruthless cowards?"

Just in case you not familiar with this whole Bundy Ranch brouhaha here is the Atlantic's synopsis: 

Twenty-one years ago, rancher Cliven Bundy stopped paying his grazing fees. 

Bundy does not recognize federal authority over land where his ancestors first settled in the 1880s, which he claims belongs to the state of Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management disagreed and took him to federal court, which first ruled in favor of the BLM in 1998. After years of attempts at a negotiated settlement over the $1.2 million Bundy owes in fees failed, federal land agents began seizing hundreds of his cattle illegally grazing on public land last week. 

But after footage of a BLM agent using a stun gun on Bundy's adult son went viral in far-right circles, hundreds of armed militia supporters from neighboring states flocked to Bundy's ranch to defend him from the BLM agents enforcing the court order. The states'-rights groups, in echoes of Ruby Ridge and Waco, came armed and prepared for violence. "I'm ready to pull the trigger if fired upon," one of the anti-government activists told Reuters. Not eager to spill blood over cattle, the BLM backed down Sunday and started returning the livestock it had confiscated. The agency says it won't drop the matter and will "continue to work to resolve the matter administratively and judicially."

Bundy has been egged on by the likes of Sean Hannity, and the Koch brother funded Americans for Prosperity, who are clearly hoping for some kind of fatal incident in order to fan the flames of anti-government sentiment.

These Right Wing groups and conservative media types are being incredibly irresponsible, and potentially placing people's lives in danger in order to inflame passions and then manipulate it for their own use.

This rancher and his supporters are NOT heroes, they are simply pawns being used in a game from which they will ultimately receive no benefit. In fact if they were to lose their lives in this endeavor then it would be all the better for the folks pulling their strings.

Chris Matthews goes after RNC Chairman over racial attacks by Republicans.

PRIEBUS: But I think Obama’s policies have created a sense that for whatever reason, he’s looking to guidance [from Europe] as far as health care is concerned, as far as our spending is concerned … 

MATTHEWS: What? Where do you get this from? This is insane! You mean the Keynesian fiscal policy — you mean the fact that every president we’ve had has tried to offset the economic cycle with stimulus going the other direction is somehow European? … What’s this got to do with Europe and this foreignization of the guy? You’re doing it now! Saying he’s influenced by foreign influences? You’re playing that card again. What’s this European thing of yours? What are you up to with this constant that he’s not really domestic? 

PRIEBUS: You don’t think the take-over of our health care system called Obamacare is a problem for most Americans? 

MATTHEWS: Let me tell you some history, sir. Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt pushed for that, Truman pushed for that, were they all under the influence of Europe? Where do you get this from? 

PRIEBUS: I’m not going to get into a shouting match with Chris, so you guys can just move on. 

MATTHEWS: Because you’re losing, that’s why. 

PRIEBUS: No, I’m not losing. 

Yes you did!

You know I have often talked about my frustration with Matthews over the last few years, but THIS was EXACTLY how I have wanted the media to confront the GOP about their racist bullshit.

So at least for today Chris Matthews was speaking for me, and for all of us who are goddamn sick and tired of seeing the Republicans get a pass for their underhanded attacks against our President.

I just wish the other "journalists" sitting there would have backed him up.

(H/T to Think Progress.)

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and President Obama have angry exchange on airport tarmac. Update!

Courtesy of Politico:

It was a tense moment on the tarmac. 

President Obama, alighting from the stairs of Air Force One in Phoenix this afternoon, was greeted by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who handed him an envelope and the two exchanged what appeared to be some heated sentiments. At one point, she pointed her finger at him. 

Asked afterward what happened, Brewer said, "He was a little disturbed about my book, Scorpions for Breakfast. 

"I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt," she said, according to a pool report. "He didn't feel that I had treated him cordially. I said I was sorry he felt that way but I didn't get my sentence finished. Anyway, we're glad he's here. I'll regroup." 

In the envelope she had given him was a handwritten letter, Brewer said -- "an invitation that I've extended to him before with regards to coming to Arizona and going to the border with me....We've had a remarkable comeback here and I want to share that with him." 

A White House official confirmed the invitation and described the encounter in more bureaucratic terms: "The President said he'd be glad to meet with her again, but did note that after their last meeting, a cordial discussion in the Oval Office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book. The President looks forward to continuing taking steps to help Arizona's economy grow." 

The pool reporter, POLITICO's Carrie Budoff Brown, said the scene was far from the norm. Aside from the pointing, they appeared to talk over each other and he appeared to walk away from her while they were still talking.

I, of course, have not read Brewer's book, but according to Politico, this is the description that upset the President.

“It was though President Obama thought he could lecture me, and I would learn at his knee,” she wrote, according to Capitol Media Services. “He thinks he can humor me and then get rid of me.”

And if Brewer lied, remember she once claimed erroneously that there were headless corpses found along the US-Mexico border, then the President has every right to call her out on it.

Now I wasn't there so I do not know exactly what happened. However I do know that the President is very good at keeping his cool, and it is not HIS finger that is pointed in Governor Brewer's face. Which by the way, I don't care WHO you are, is an incredibly disrespectful thing to do to the President of the United States.

Update: Just a reminder as to who wrote the foreword for Brewer's book,